Friday, May 4, 2018

On May 11, Rojorn Campbell would have celebrated eight years since fulfilling his dream of becoming a pilot.But as he took to the skies in a Cessna 206 aircraft on a fateful Thursday afternoon last week from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, little did he know he would not make it to that milestone.Instead, a tragic plane crash has plunged the local aviation fraternity into mourning yet again. This time, there is a grieving widow, who had no idea how quickly a 'happy ever after' could turn into such a terrible nightmare.It all began some time after 4 p.m. when Campbell, fellow pilot Carlon Snipe, and mechanic Miguel Jones commenced what should have been a regular trip destined for the Tinson Pen Aerodrome in Kingston.However, shortly after takeoff, panic buttons went off when the aircraft in which they were travelling went off the radar.The Jamaica Defence Force was immediately called in to commence a desperate search for the men.FEARED THE WORSTDespite their efforts, they stumbled upon nothing, and fellow pilots and industry workers started fearing the worst.By 5 p.m. Friday, Major Basil Jarrett, the civil military cooperation officer, confirmed their fears.Three weeks before his death, Campbell had tied the knot with his longtime partner, Amoy.And, it was at the wedding that he and his brother last shared a moment.The Gleaner understands that Campbell also has a five-year-old daughter.At the same time, family and friends are expressing shock at the passing of Snipe, who they describe as a "humble soul yet full of life".In the aftermath of the tragedy, other local pilots poured out their emotions on social media as they were yet again mourning the loss of colleagues.Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority Director General Nari Williams-Singh also said the crash was "a sad day for the aviation fraternity".He said the regulatory body was probing the incident.In 2016, a similar incident took place when a four-seat Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft crashed into a house in the Greenwich Town community in southwest St Andrew, killing three.Original article ➤ http://jamaica-gleaner.com

Rescue teams have found the wreckage of the single engine Cessna 206F that disappeared while on an internal flight between the Sangster International Airport in St James, and the Tinson Pen Aerodrome in the capital, Kingston, on Thursday.
The bodies of the three passengers, including two pilots, were also found by members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) on Friday.Lieutenant Colonel Godfrey Sterling said the small aircraft was located about two miles south of Duncans and that the Civil Aviation Authority is expected there on Saturday.The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) in a statement Friday, said that the Cessna 206F aircraft was last seen on radar at 4:36 p.m. (local time) Thursday between Duncans and Clark’s Town in Trelawny, a parish in northwest Jamaica.The names of the occupants have not been disclosed. But the plane is owned by prominent businessman, Howard Levy, who was not aboard the aircraft.The Jamaica Observer newspaper Saturday quoted a resident of the area where the plane was found as saying that it was raining heavily on Thursday night when he heard the low-flying plane go down in the thick growth of trees.He said he did not raise an alarm until he heard the soldiers searching for the plane and informed them to the area where he saw the plane “dip”.The newspaper said that one of those killed in the crash was married less than three weeks ago.

GEORGIA, Trelawny — It was a scene of devastation yesterday at the site where an aeroplane crashed in Trelawny, killing the three people on-board.
The aircraft, which was reported missing after taking off from the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, at 4:18 pm on Thursday, was discovered about 3:30 pm yesterday by members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Air Wing, in an area between Duncans and Samuel Prospect.Bits and pieces of the aeroplane and the mutilated bodies of its occupants were recovered deep in the woods of the rustic community by the army men.“The small aircraft that was lost from radar yesterday evening was located about two miles south of Duncans. The Civil Aviation Authority is expected here in the morning and until then, the scene is being kept sterile,” Lieutenant Colonel Godfrey Sterling told the Jamaica Observer last night.The aircraft — a Cessna 206F operated by Rutair Limited (Airlink) — was last seen on radar at 4:36 pm on Thursday, above Trelawny, 32 kilometres (20 miles) east of Sangster International Airport, between Duncans and Clark's Town. The aircraft was heading to the Tinson Pen Aerodrome.The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority said yesterday that immediately following the aircraft's disappearance from the radar, search and rescue procedures were initiated, with contacts to the Duncans and Clark's Town police stations and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).The JDF initiated search and rescue flights Thursday evening and resumed yesterday morning.Original article ➤ http://www.jamaicaobserver.com

Search crews have found the Cessna 206F aircraft that went missing over the island on Thursday with three people aboard. There were no survivors. According to the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), the wreckage of the plane was found - almost completely disintegrated - in bushes near Duncan's, Trelawny on Friday evening.The aircraft, reportedly with two pilots and a mechanic on board, went off radar on Thursday afternoon.In a statement, the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft departed from the Sangster International Airport in St James at 4:18 pm, destined for the Tinson Pen Aerodrome in Kingston, with an estimated arrival time of 4:58 pm.The JCAA said the aircraft was last seen on radar at 4:36 pm, between Duncans and Clark’s Town in Trelawny, where search and rescue procedures were immediately initiated with the respective police stations and the JDF.Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.loopjamaica.com

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is reporting that the small aircraft that went missing shortly after take-off from Montego, St James yesterday has crashed.According to Major Basil Jarrett, the army's civil military cooperation officer, all three people who were aboard have died.Jarrett said the plane's wreckage was found in a bushy area of Trelawny around 4 p.m. Friday with the help of residents who reported seeing the plane flying at a very low altitude.The plane, with two pilots and a mechanic aboard, disappeared from radar shortly after take-off from the Sangster International Airport.Jarrett said an investigation has started and will continue on the crash site into Saturday.Original article ➤ http://jamaica-star.com

Harleyville, S.C. (WCIV) — Beidler Forest sits just off Interstate 26 in Harleyville. It’s the world’s largest virgin cypress-tupelo swamp.“You’d swear you were in some tropical rain forest or in some jungle in the Pacific,” said the forest’s land manager Mark Musselman. “It's hard to imagine that's you're spitting distance from paved roads.”Musselman is in charge of every inch of all 18,000 acres of Four Holes Swamp.“It’s 60 miles, and it drops 30 feet. It's really winding,” he said.His place is to survey it all in five years, and that’s exactly what he was doing when he stumbled upon a piece of history swallowed up by the swamp.“In this particular area, I was looking at what hogs had done damage-wise,” he recalled. “This is about a 100 x 300 foot donut hole on my map, so I was going to walk through it.”That’s when he spotted it—the tail section of a 1950s military jet.“I walked up on it, and it looked like the tail of an airplane. I thought, of course that couldn't be what it was.”But, it was.The wreckage of a United States Air Force reconnaissance plane crash.It crashed in January of 1957 and the remnants are still visible more than 60 years later.“A lot of it has been buried by decades of leaf litter and floods washing stuff over so there are more pieces than you see,” said Musselman.The tire, the front landing gear, and the plane’s tail section are now a fixture of the Beidler Forest.Musselman said there were rumors before his time as land manager about a plane crash in the forest, but no confirmation until he stumbled upon the wreckage last year.Then, he got to work using his background in history and the military to solve the mystery.“Obviously by the insignia it's a United States Air Force aircraft,” he said. “It's pretty weathered, so I didn't know what time frame it was from.”He called Joint Base Charleston to get records of nearby crashes, but he said they came back empty-handed at first.“As a supply officer, I knew if you lost anything, a canteen, you had to take it off your inventory,” he said. “If you lost a huge jet, they definitely took it off the inventory.”He went back to the drawing board and back to the plane pieces to search for clues.“From the piece of the tail that exists they have a buzz number,” he said. “From what was on the aircraft I could tell two out of the three numbers. There were two aircraft (on a list of RF-84s) that had 89 something. One was 897 and one was 895. What's left of the third number definitely wasn't a seven and it looked like it could have been a five.”By the end of the day the Air Force found the crash report.The plane took off from Shaw Air Force Base, approximately 8 miles from Sumter, S.C.Two of the RF-84s were approximately 29 minutes into their flight when metal fatigue caused the fan to fall apart and the engine to no longer work.The pilot was John West, an exchange pilot from the British Royal Air Force.He survived the crash by ejecting and landed in the top of a tall pine tree near Highway 27.“He said the worst part of his experience was getting out of the swamp on the back of a tractor because he thought the farmer was driving pretty erratically,” Musselman said.The plane flew itself for four miles and crashed in the Beidler Forest.The wings were sheared off, scattering smaller pieces throughout the swamp. Musselman said there is about a 100-yard debris field.The Air Force hauled off some of the debris in 1957 and left the rest for Musselman to find.Not soon enough, though.West died in 2008, leaving Musselman with some regrets.“It’s unfortunate because I could've found it in 2008, and that would have been neat to be able to show him at least some pictures of where his aircraft ended up after he departed it,” he said.West’s son is still alive, and Musselman hopes that one day he can show him the wreckage of the plane his father flew.Story and video ➤ http://abcnews4.com

WINTHROP – Methow Valley State Airport will close later this month due to a five million dollar project to replace pavement and maintain infrastructure by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Aviation.Methow Valley State Airport in Winthrop, where the pavement is 22 years old, is the largest of 16 WSDOT-managed airports.Wenatchee general contractor, Selland Construction, plans to start the project May 14, which will close the airport to the public.The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which will fund 90 % of the cost and the WSDOT Aviation will fund 10% of the cost.There will be three main phases for the project which will includePhase 1 – Rehabilitate runway 13/31 pavement: Remove existing aged runway pavement, install new stormwater drainage system, new asphalt pavement, and sub-grade improvements for the entire 5,049-foot runway.Phase 2 - West connector taxiway rehabilitation and widening: Remove an existing forest service non-standard taxiway connector, modify the west side transient ramp taxiway connector to meet current FAA design standards, and taxiway lighting modifications followed by new pavement.Phase 3 – West apron rehabilitation: Rehabilitate the west side transient parking ramp through additional sub-grade and pavement overlay upgrades.Phase one and two are scheduled to be completed within the first 45 days. Once the second phase is completed, WSDOT Aviation will open the runway for public use with west side transient ramp access restrictions.The runway is scheduled to reopen at the end of June, tentatively, in hopes to avoid interference with the expected fire season operations of the United States Forest Service (USFS), conducted by North Cascades Smokejumper Base (NCSB). The NCSB is prepared to operate out of alternative airports until construction is completed.WSDOT Aviation will issue an airport closure and Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) but the airport’s automated Weather Observing Station (AWOS) will remain operational.Phase Four, which will expand the west general aviation aircraft parking apron to the south, will be advertised in 2018 for construction in the spring/summer 2019.Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.ifiberone.com

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety BoardLocation: Fullerton, CAAccident Number: GAA17CA562Date & Time: 09/27/2017, 1000 PDTRegistration: N515ETAircraft: EUROCOPTER AS 350Aircraft Damage: SubstantialDefining Event: Loss of control in flightInjuries: 2 MinorFlight Conducted Under: Public AircraftThe check pilot reported that he was administering an annual standardization check ride in the public use helicopter.The last maneuver evaluated was a hydraulic failure that would terminate by accomplishing a simulated run-on landing.The maneuver was initiated when the check/evaluated pilot established an out of ground effect (OGE) hover on the downwind leg of the pattern. The check-pilot engaged the hydraulic test button on the center console to "simulate a hydraulic failure." The evaluated pilot lowered the nose and established forward airspeed to maintain aircraft controllability. He maintained stabilized forward flight on the downwind leg, and the check-pilot disengage the hydraulic test button. The check pilot moved the hydraulic cut off switch to the off position, and the hydraulic system was disengaged. The evaluated pilot remained on the controls and established a shallow approach until about 3ft above the runway.Over the runway, the evaluated pilot allowed the helicopter's airspeed to decrease, and the check-pilot stated, "Keep the speed up." The evaluated pilot responded by lowering the nose, however, an uncontrollable rapid left yaw ensued.The check-pilot took control of the helicopter and attempted to keep the helicopter over the runway, but the nose pitched down, and the main rotor blades struck the ground. The check pilot decreased the fuel control and the helicopter settled upright on the runway.The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the windscreen above the cabin, the tailboom and tail rotor drive system.The METAR at the accident airport during the time of the accident reported that the wind from 250° at 3kts, the skies were clear, and the temperature was 72°F.According to the Operator's Flight Manual:In case of loss of hydraulic pressure, the recommended safety speed range is from 40 to 60 kt.CAUTION:DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CARRY OUT HOVER FLIGHT OR ANY LOW SPEED MANEUVER WITHOUT HYDRAULIC PRESSURE ASSISTANCE. THE INTENSITY AND DIRECTION OF THE CONTROL FEEDBACK FORCES WILL CHANGE RAPIDLY. THIS WILL RESULT IN EXCESSIVE PILOT WORKLOAD, POOR AIRCRAFT CONTROL, AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF CONTROL.There were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that were identified as a result of this investigation.

Location: San Diego, CAAccident Number: GAA17CA559Date & Time: 09/27/2017, 0235 PDTRegistration: N9346GAircraft: CESSNA 182Aircraft Damage: SubstantialDefining Event: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)Injuries: 3 NoneFlight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal The pilot reported that he took off in dark night conditions and was using flight following. When he arrived at the destination airport, he activated the runway lights while entering the downwind leg. While on final approach the runway lights suddenly turned off, so he aborted the landing. The pilot again activated the runway lights on the downwind leg, but this time he flew a short base leg to final. The airplane was at a lower altitude for the approach and suddenly entered a heavy band of fog. The left wing subsequently hit the soft dirt, cartwheeled and came to rest inverted about ¼ mile short of runway 26.A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage.The weather conditions reported at the airport, about the time of the accident, was calm wind, visibility 4 statute miles, moderate mist, scattered 100 ft, temperature 15°C, dew point 15°C, and an altimeter setting 29.24 inches of mercury.The pilot did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident /Incident Report Form 6120.1.

A pilot described the terrifying moments before his small plane crash landed at Brown Field south of San Diego on September 27, 2017.Phillip Lojas had two passengers on the Cessna 182 traveling from Compton when the plane flipped twice before landing."Suddenly we didn't see the lights. The fog was too thick. We lost control of it and we crashed," Lojas said. The plane attempted to land in heavy fog just after 3 a.m. at the airfield just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Lojas said the plane suffered serious damage. One passenger suffered a cut to his forehead.Lojas said he is relieved they were able to survive the landing."We're here. By the grace of God. We're here," Lojas said. Story, video and photo gallery ➤ http://www.nbcsandiego.com